abbott



March 7, 1961 E. v. ABBOTT 2,973,999

PORTABLE TIME RECORDING DEVICE Filed May 8, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F i g. I C

W m 84a 84b =66 H20 II2b 84b gg 82 INVENTOR. 26 Elbert v Abbott March 7, 1961 Filed May 8, 1959 III 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 9 Elbert V Abbofr PORTABLE TIME RECORDING DEVICE Elbert V. Abbott, 69 Vicksburg St., San Francisco 14, Calif.

Filed May 8, 1959, Ser. No. 812,020

2 Claims. (Cl. 346-82) The present invention relates to time recording devices, such as are employed to mark the time of arrival and/ or departure of persons, or vehicles, on employment cards, parking tickets, and the like. Devices of this type comprise usually a clock mechanism that sets an adjustable stamp by means of which the time and the date may be printed upon a card or ticket. Usually such time recording devices are set up at the entrance of parking lots, factories and other establishments where they may easily be supervised so that they cannot be tampered with, to falsify the time of arrival or departure of a person or vehicle.

It is an object of my invention to provide a port-able time recording device that may easily be carried by a person.

More particularly it is an object of my invention to provide a portable time recording device, that cannot be tampered with by the person that carries it around, when it is no longer under the watchful eye of a supervisor.

Another object of my invention is to provide a portable time recording device, of the type referred to, that is of simple construction and of relatively light weight and which is easy to manipulate.

In this connection it is an object of my invention to provide a portable time recording device that requires no special inking pad to render its printing mechanism effective.

These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof and wherein Figure l is a front elevation of a portable time recording device embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device viewed from the right of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the device with its cover removed to reveal the mechanisms in its interior;

Figure 4 is a detail view taken along the arrows 44 of Figure 3 and illustrating the actual time stamp;

Figure 5 is another detail view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a vertical cross section of the device viewed from the right of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a rear elevation of the device; and

Figure 8 is a perspective of the time recording device of my invention illustrating the manner in which it is carried around and manipulated by an operator.

In Figure 3 the reference numeral 10 designates the actual time marking mechanism which may be of conventional design. It comprises an annular printing dial 12 (Figures 3 and 4) upon which mirror images of the twelve hours 1 to 1 2' and the sixty minutes of each hour are marked in a manner similar to the dial of an ordinary clock or watch, and which is secured to the horizontally disposed bottom bar 14 of a sturdy frame 16 within which the clock work 18 is mounted. Said clock work is provided with concentrically arranged vertically dis- States Patent ree posed timing shafts 20 and 22, only the outer one 20 being visible in Figure 3, which pass through an aperture in the bar 14 concentrically within the annular printing dial 12 and which carry at the level of said printing dial time indicating members 24 and 25 corresponding to the hour and minute hands of an ordinary clock.

-To the right of the dial 12 the frame 16 may carry an adjustable printing mechanism identified by the reference numeral 26, that may be adjusted by manipulation of a lever 28 to place the letters AM or PM into printing position, and to the left of said dial the frame may carry a printing mechanism identified by the reference numeral 30, that may be set by manipulation of bar 32 to place symbols identifying the day and the month of the year into printing position.

In accordance with my invention I encase the clock and printing mechanism within a housing or enclosure in such a manner that the time-setting mechanism of the former cannot be tampered with, while the clockwinding mechanism and the setting levers for the date and half day stamps may readily be manipulated from the outside; and I mount the clock and printing mechanism for vertical sliding movement within the enclosure, and design the bottom wall of the enclosure as a printing table upon which a card or ticket may be placed from the outside and against which the printing mechanism of the clockmay be pressed by a lever that causes the combined clock and printing mechanism to descend against the urgency of a restore spring and which protrudes laterally from the enclosure and may readily be manipulated from the outside.

Having again reference to the drawings, the enclosure or housing 34 comprises a rear portion 36 (Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5) which is rigidly mounted in upright position upon a heavy base plate 38 that has a central cavity or recess 40 into which is fitted a pad 42 of elastic material, such as hard rubber or a suitable plastic.

Formed in the upper end of the housing portion 36 by transversely spread parallel webs 44a and 44]) that are integral with the top wall 46 and the rear wall 48 of housing portion 36 is a guide slot 50 within which is slidably received a guide block 52 that is rigidly secured to and projects upwardly from the top of the hereinbefore mentioned frame structure 16 within which the clockwork 18 and the printing mechanisms 12, 26 and 30 are mounted (Figure 3). The guide block 52 is forked and forms two transversely spaced arms 52a and 52b (Figure 6) which support the opposite ends of a short transverse shaft 54. Said shaft 54 is slidably held in the bifurcated end 56 of a lever 58 that is pivoted at 60 to the right web 44b (as viewed in Figure 3) and which has an elongated opposite arm 62 that projects through a vertical slot 64 in the side wall 66 of the housing. Exteriorly of the housing, a finger plate 68 may be secured to the underside of the lever arm 62 for ease of manipulation. To hold the frame structure 16 yieldably in an elevated position wherein the printing stamps at its lower end are held a limited distance above the pad 42, a spring 70 is tensioned between the long arm 62 of lever 58 and a stud 72 that is secured to the rear wall 48 of the housing portion 36 below said lever arm.

Whenever the arm 62 of lever 58 is pushed upwardly against the urgency of spring 70, the forked opposite end 56 of said lever, by virture of its engagement with the shaft 54, forces the frame structure 16 downwardly and brings the printing stamps at its lower end against the pad 42 or whatever card or ticket may have been placed upon said pad. To facilitate the described manipulation, a stationary thumb rest 74 is arranged above the outer end of the lever arm 62. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, said thumb rest projects laterally from a plate '76 that is rigidly secured to the top wall 46 of the housing portion 36 as shown in every one of Figures 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8.

Pivotally supported at either side of-theframe structure 16 by brackets 78 (Figure 6) that are rigidly secured to said frame structure, are spools or reels 80a and 80b (Figure 3). Wound upon, and anchored to, the hubs of said spools are the opposite ends of a printing ribbon 82 and the connecting run of said ribbon between said spools is guided around the lower end of the frame structure over the printing faces of the date and time printing devices 12, 26 and 30 so that said devices will print their information through said ribbon upon whatever card or ticket may lie upon the pad 42, whenever the lever 58 is raised. Each of the spools may be turned manually by means of operating knobs in the form of knurled cylinders 84a and 84b that are secured to and project outwardly from the front disks of said spools. To advance the ribbon gradually in order that fresh portions thereof may continually be employed for printing, and to keep the connecting run of the ribbon sufliciently tensed so that it will dependably remain in the proper place below the printing faces of the mechanisms 12, 26 and 30, means are provided that are automatically effective, whenever the printing device is used in practice, to turn the left spool 80a by a small increment so as to take up a limited length of the ribbon and in this manner unwind a limited length from the opposite spool 80b. For this purpose the rear end disk 86 (Figure 3) of the spool 80a is formed in the manner of a ratchet which is engaged by the nose 88 of a pawl 90 that is pivoted to the rear wall 48 of the housing at 91. A spring 92 is arranged to urge the pawl with its nose against the edge of the ratchet 86. Whenever the frame structure 16 is lowered by manipulation of the lever arm 62, the back edges of the ratchet teeth slide ineffeotively downwardly past the nose of the pawl 90, but when the lever arm 62 is released and the spring 70 returns the frame structure 16 to its elevated position, the steep edge of a ratchet tooth engages the nose of the pawl and as the ratchet rises to a higher level with the frame structure from which it is supported, engagement of said tooth with the stationary nose of the pawl is effective to turn the spool a limited distance in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3, and take up a small length of the ribbon 82.

To prevent return rotation of'the spool 80a whenever the frame structure 16 is lowered and the edge of the ratchet slides downwardly along the nose of the pawl 90, the tail of the pawl carries an arcuate spring arm 94 (Figures 3 and that reaches over the spool 80a in a clockwise direction and is urged against the supply of ribbon on said spool by the force of the hereinbefore mentioned pawl spring 92. To disable the nose of the pawl 90 and the spring arm 94, whenever it is desired to unwind the ribbon from the spool 80a, the tail of the pawl may be formed into an actuating arm 96 that projects through a vertical slot 98 in the side wall 100 of the housing. By depressing said arm against the urgency of spring 92, the nose of the pawl is withdrawn from the ratchet and the spring arm 94 releases the supply of nibbon on the spool 80a so that the spool may freely be turned with the aid of cylinder 84a to unwind the ribbon.

The front portion or cover 102 of the enclosure is simi lar in appearance to the rear portion except that its walls terminate a limited distance above the base plate 38 when the cover is secured to the: rear portion of the enclosure, which is accomplished by screw bolts 106 that pass through apertures 108 in the rear portion 36 of the enclosure (Figure 7) and engage threaded holes (not shown) in the cover. Thus, a slot 104 is formed between the base plate 38 and the bottom edges of the cover, and through said slot the card or ticket upon which the time is to be marked, is slid underneath the ribboncovered printing mechanism, as illustrated in Figure 8.

To be able to slide such a card or ticket more fully underneath the printing mechanism, the bottom edges of the side walls of the housing portion 36 are partially recessed, as indicated at 110a and 110b, in Figures 2, 3, and 6 and to provide a feed ramp for the card or ticket, the bottom plate 38 may be of such size as to project a limited distance beyond the front wall of the cover 102, as illustrated at 111 in Figures 2, 6 and 8.

The cover 102 has vertically elongated apertures 112a and 112b in its front walls, through which the operating knobs Ma and 84b for the reels 80a and 80b protrude when the cover is bolted to the rear portion of the enclosure, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 4 and 6; and the front wall of the cover has a recessed area 114 opposite the lower portion of the frame structure 16 and said recessed front wall area is provided with vertical slots 116a and 116b through which the setting levers 32 and 23, respectively, of the printing mechanisms 26 and 30 protrude so that said printing mechanisms may be set from the outside.

in the particular clock work 10 employed in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the mechanism for winding the clock is a disk 113 at the back of the clock work 10, which is provided with a pair of diagonally spaced ears a and 120!) by means of which said disk may be turned. To provide access to said disk, the rear wall 4 8 of the housing or enclosure 34 is provided with a large circular opening 124, as shown in Figure 7. Provided in the enter of the disk 118 intermediately of the ears: 120a and 1201) is the time setting knob 126 (Figures 6 and 7). To prevent unauthorized manipulation of said knob, a cover 128 is hingedly connected to the ear 120a as indicated at 130, and may be locked to the other car 120!) by means of a padlock 132 in a position wherein it fully covers the knob 126 so that it is completely closed off from the outside and cannot be tampered with. The opening 124 may have a vertically elongated semicircular recess 134 in its bottom quadrant to accommodate the padlock 132, as shown in Figure 7.

To carry the described time recording device conveniently around, the hereinbefore mentioned plate 76 that is secured to the top of the housing it and which provides a thumb rest '74, is bent over the outer face of the rear wall 4-3 to form a loop 136 (Figure 6) through which a belt may be threaded, as illustrated in phantom lines at 138 in Figure 8.

The time recording device of the invention represents a compact, self-contained unit. it requires no separate inking pad, its time setting mechanism cannot be tampered with, yet it freely allows whatever adjustments are necessary to keep it in proper working condition. The mechanisms for printing the date and for indicating whether the printed time applies to the morning or the afternoon may readly be set from the outside. The inking mechanism adjusts itself automatically every time the device is used. it is easy for the operator to place a card or ticket through the slot 104 onto the printing table 38 and to operate the printing device, as shown in Figure 8. The device is light in weight and may readily be carried around on the operators belt, as likewise illustrated in Figure 8.

While I have described my invention with the aid of a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific construc tional details shown and described which may be departed from without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A portable time recording device comprising a bottom plate, an enclosure mounted upon said bottom plate and having a recessed bottom edge to form a slot for the insertion of a card along the top surface of said bottom plate, a settable printing mechanism having a printing face at its bottom and rigidly mounted upon said printing mechanism, a clock mechanism arranged to set said printing mechanism, said clock mechanism having a winding device and a time-setting mechanism, means mounting said combined clock and printing mechanisms within said enclosure for downwardly sliding movement from an elevated position wherein said printing face is spaced from the. top surface of said bottom plate, spring means yieldably holding said combined clock and printing mechanisms in said elevated position, a lever mounted within said enclosure and having an outwardly protruding arm manually operable to lower said combined clock and printing mechanisms against the urgency of said spring means with said printing face thereof into operative engagement with a card positioned upon the top surface of said base plate, and means permitting access to said clock winding device from the outside while prohibiting access to said time setting mechanism.

2. A portable time recording device comprising a bottom plate, an enclosure mounted upon said bottom plate and having a recessed bottom edge to form a slot for the insertion of a card along the top surface of said bottom plate, a settable printing mechanism having a printing face at its bottom and rigidly mounted upon said printing mechanism, a clock mechanism arranged to set said printing mechanism, said clock mechanism having a winding device in the form of a rotary disk and a timesetting mechanism located centrally of said disk, means mounting said combined clock and printing mechanisms within said enclosure for downwardly sliding movement from an elevated position wherein said printing face is spaced from the top surface of said bottom plate, spring means yieldably holding said combined clock and printing mechanisms in said elevated position, a lever mounted within said enclosure and having an outwardly protruding arm operable to lower said combined clock and printing mechanisms against the urgency of said spring means with said printing face thereof into operative engagement with a card positioned upon the top surface of said base plate, said enclosure having an aperture permitting access to said clock winding mechanism, and detachably secured to said disk a cover encasing said timesetting mechanism.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 178,165 Kutz May 30, 1876 602,026 Blessing Apr. 5, 1898 1,008,763 Wilson Nov. 14, 1911 1,076,258 Alsenz Oct. 21, 1913 1,098,607 Armbruster et al. June 2, 1914 1,292,135 Straub Jan. 21, 1919 1,430,031 Sheras Sept. 26, 1922 2,259,065 Erisman et al. Oct. 14, 1941 2,822,233 Rucker Feb. 4, 1958 

